Business Reporter
CALEDONIA Holdings Zimbabwe has secured interim financing facilities of up to US$150 million to support the development of the Bilboes gold project.
Arranged by Stanbic Bank and CBZ Bank and syndicated across a consortium of eight local financial institutions, the 36-month facility provides financial flexibility as the group advances its multi-asset growth strategy.
The financing package is split into two primary components.
Facility A is a revolving credit facility of up to US$50 million priced at the secured overnight financing rate (SOFR) plus 8,1 percent per annum.
Facility B is a term loan of up to US$100 million that features an accordion option for an additional US$50 million at SOFR plus 7,9 percent per annum.
Additionally, Facility B includes an 18-month availability period and a capital repayment pause before transitioning to quarterly repayments.
The successful syndication across institutions such as Stanbic Bank, CBZ Bank, Central African Building Society, FBC Bank, FBC Crown Bank, First Capital Bank, NMB Bank and ZB Bank highlights strong local backing for the project.
This agreement marks the delivery of the third pillar of Caledonia’s comprehensive four-pillar funding strategy for Bilboes.
The prior pillars include a completed gold price hedging programme utilising put options to secure a floor price of US$3 500 per ounce through December 2028 and a successfully closed, upsized US$150 million convertible notes offering that yielded about US$130 million in net proceeds.
Meanwhile, discussions regarding long-term international project finance continue to advance in parallel.
With initial ground works underway, main construction slated for 2027 and 2028, and the project on track to pour its first gold in October 2028, chief executive Mr Mark Learmonth emphasised the strength of the company’s financial roadmap.
“Earlier this year, we set out a clear four-pillar funding strategy for Bilboes,” he said.
“With the successful completion of our hedging programme, convertible notes offering and now the US$150 million interim financing facility, we will have successfully delivered three of those four pillars and substantially advanced the funding framework for the project, as we seek to deliver our long-term growth strategy.”
